By Lu Xiaolu
On July 19, 2014 Fudan International Forum of Management was unveiled in Shanghai, addressing the theme of “Transformation and Modernization of Public Governance”.
The national development of China is currently at the critical period of transformation. Economic development has entered an era when the growth speed gradually slows down while structure adjustment speeds up. Social development has started a new phase with more diversified participating entities and multiplex of pursuit expressions. China’s public governance is facing unprecedentedly new challenges and development opportunities for great leap forward. Carrying out researches, encouraging innovation and promoting practice and application of new knowledge and theories of public governance will play an active role to improve the reform and public governance level of the Chinese government.
Meanwhile, the global environment for public governance is profoundly changing. Growth of citizens’ rights promotes continuous growth of public service demand and diversifies the expression of citizens’ opinions. Information explosion and rapid flow bring about unprecedented innovation possibilities and information risks. The age of big data pushes analytic tools of public governance and public policies that are conventionally dominant to a position challenged forcefully by new tools and new approaches. Are the above-stated changes the renewal from the format and content of the existing topic of public governance or the prediction that public governance practice will face revolutionary transformation? 2014 Fudan International Forum of Management unveiled on July 19 invited leading scholars on public governance from home and abroad to discuss the topic of transformation and modernization of public governance.
Nearly 100 scholars from home and abroad delivered more than 40 high-level keynote speeches on the two-day forum. The forum also set up parallel sessions addressing the following five topics respectively, i.e., “Shanghai Free Trade Pilot Zone and China’s Mega Strategy on Reform and Opening up”, “Urbanization and City Governance: Comparison Vision”, “Environment and National Governance”, “Government Transformation and Innovation in the Construction of Modern Education Governance System” and “Medical Reform and Public Governance”.